The rise in the number of young people actively involved in vices is a cause of concern for Nigerian society, Bishop Emmanuel Adetoyese Badejo of the country’s Catholic Diocese of Oyo has warned.
Speaking at an Eastertide Press Conference in his Episcopal See, Bishop Badejo highlighted some of the vices that he said young people are frequently engaged in and called for a multipronged approach to get them back on track.
“An increasing number of youths today are engaging in banditry, kidnapping, robbery, ritual killing, and promiscuity and are getting addicted to substance abuse, and gambling,” he lamented.
Bishop Badejo described the involvement of young people in the highlighted vices and negative habits as “youth moral decadence”.
He was addressing participants in the Eastertide press conference organized under the theme, “Church and State Collaboration in Citizens’ Welfare and the Development of Society” at Bishop Adelakun Hall, Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Cathedral of his Episcopal See.
According to the Catholic Bishop of Oyo Diocese, who doubles as the President of the Pan African Episcopal Committee for Social Communications (CEPACS), an entity of the Symposium of Episcopal Conference of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), there is a need for “an all-inclusive methodology” to help the youth overcome the vices and bad habits.
Such a multipronged strategy, he said, would involve various stakeholders, including “families, communities, educational institutions, religious institutions, the media and the government.”
The stakeholders will need to take a collaborative approach, “with policies aimed at promoting positive values, positive mentors, and positive models with support systems that offer opportunities for personal and social development,” Bishop Badejo said.
He also highlighted the “collaboration between the Church the media and the government” as being “decisive in addressing youth moral decadence.”
“Such collaboration can enhance the quality of counseling services, support groups, and intervention programs for youths struggling with issues such as substance abuse, mental health challenges, or family problems, in promoting positive values, character development, and life skills,” he said.
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